Further details about my progress can be found on my profile. Apologies for the delay and the rushed A/N, and many thanks for the reviews and emails concerning my progress and updating 'Through The Looking Glass' :)
Regards,
Xoxomtmodnarxoxo
A/N: *As seen in episode 1 of 'Sonic X'
Sonic knew he couldn't keep up the chase forever; it was only a matter of time before either the cops would be on his tail or that Fiona would become too much of a hassle for him to carry over his shoulder. He had only been running for a few seconds, and yet he instantly felt irritated towards the female fox whom relentlessly screamed abuse at him whilst she punched his back with her fists and kicked at his torso with one foot. Sonic immediately cried out and stopped abruptly as Fiona's foot came into contact with one of his scars. He doubled over, exclaiming in both anger and pain.
"Jesus!", he roared in pain, "Has it slipped your mind at all that I've only just had my stomach sewn back together?"
"You deserve it, you asswipe!", she shouted as she wrestled from his grasp, "I'm not joking around here – let me go or I swear to God I'll rip your fugly head off!"
Sonic winced at the throbbing pain from his chest, and slowly stood back up as he breathed in and out, carefully inspecting his scars; the skin surrounding the scars were bright pink with inflammation due to Fiona's assault. He noticed Fiona's foot hovering near his chest once more and shoved it aside, careful not to let go of her.
"Cut it out!", he commanded, and breathed out… only to hear the faint wail of a police siren in the distance. Sonic swore under his breath and rubbed his forehead with his free hand. It was clearly obvious that that day was going to be the worst day of his life… so far…
"Don't tell me what to do!", Fiona shouted, "Don't you ever tell me what to do! I'll scream and shout and kick and punch you all I want until you let me go!"
"Do you want the cops to find us?", he argued.
"Yes!", she screeched, and began to claw at his back with her fingers, hoping to annoy him to the extent where Sonic would get sick of her behaviour and happily discard her in order to get some peace and quiet…
Unfortunately, Sonic remained strong and determined. He exhaled slowly in order to calm himself down, and tightened his grip on Fiona, who angrily protested in response. He was simply desperate to escape from the cops and have a serious talk with Fiona in private; Sonic knew very well that he couldn't go back to his apartment, for it would be the first place the cops would go to search for him. Only a fool would do that. His only option was to seek refuge in a random building and risk facing the cops along the way.
"Now here's how we're going to do things", Sonic negotiated, "I'll decide where to go and we'll go there, hide from the cops and have our private chat, and I promise not to lay a finger on you… only if youcalm yourself down and stop hitting me – agreed?"
"What?", Fiona cried.
"Tik-tok, Fi", he commented as the police sirens gradually became louder, "I haven't got all day"
"Are you out of your-"
"Right, that's it", Sonic declared as he caught sight of a police cruiser driving near them, "I'm pushed for time and I'm going to start running soon – have you made up your mind yet?"
"I won't!", Fiona insisted. Sonic shrugged slightly.
"Fine", he argued, "Rebel against me. Argue with me all you want. I'll just use my imagination to punish you when we're finally alone and out of sight from other Mobians"
"… You wouldn't dare!", she hissed.
"Well", Sonic retorted, "That depends - now, are you going to behave?"
Fiona paused slightly. When she took into account Sonic's strength, enhanced stability and senses she came to realisation that regardless of her efforts to escape from him, she was literally a rag doll compared to Sonic as far as abilities were concerned. After all, the hedgehog had taken on monsters and robots, for crying out loud!
Fiona paused. She wanted to resist his stubbornness… but ultimately failed. After all, she knew what Sonic was capable of; she would do anything to stop herself from getting hurt.
"Alright", she mumbled in defeat, "Fine… I'll calm down"
Sonic didn't waste any time. Without warning, he sped out into the main street and continued running and dodging pedestrians and oncoming traffic. He hesitated slightly when he noticed a line of police cruisers barricading his path. It was clearly obvious that somebody had tipped the word of him escaping from the hospital. Fiona, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to what was happening until she overheard a police officer state through a microphone: "We've got you surrounded, Hedgehog – stop immediately and let go of the girl if you know what's good for ya"
Although she agreed to keep her mouth zipped, Fiona grabbed the opportunity to claim sanctuary.
"Oh, thank God!", Fiona screamed, "Thank God! Save me from this maniac!"
"I thought we had an agreement!", Sonic argued, and rolled his eyes. Of course, it was Fiona he was dealing with – she was most likely to rebel against him, considering. The officers surrounding them began to close in on them. Sonic noticed that a number of the officers were carrying guns, and decided that he wasn't having any of it. He focussed on the road behind the line of police cruisers, planted his feet firmly into the ground, and leant towards the approaching police officers He only had one chance at this…
Sonic took off and sped towards the barricade. Fortunately for him, he was too quick for the police officers and managed to dodge those who got in his way. Smirking, Sonic quickened his pace… and managed to jump over the line of police cruisers without colliding into them. His actions caused him to briefly reminisce of his first encounter on Earth where the police barricaded the highway to prevent him from running through, and how it only took Sonic one simple leap into the air to get past them*. Sonic smirked at the memory of how the humans were in awe when Sonic leapt gracefully past the cruisers and sped off into the horizon.
Then again, that was then and this was now. These police officers knew Sonic very well through his heroic deeds and knew his trademark abilities and weaknesses. Sonic knew that one false move would result in devastation.
Despite this, he successfully dodged collisions into the police cruisers and continued to run down the road. Fiona, on the other hand, was at loss for words as she stared at the bewildered police officers cursing and climbing into available vehicles to catch up with them. She badly wanted to hate Sonic, but… man she could feel the adrenaline pumping through her body. God, it was so exciting! Fiona didn't want to openly admit it, but she had always longed for this sort of excitement in her life. Inwardly, she gasped; could it be that she was privately enjoying all of this…?
"Where do you live?", Sonic suddenly asked.
"What?", Fiona mumbled, snapping back into reality.
"I don't have time to fool around, Fi!", Sonic snapped, "What's your address?"
"Why can't we go back to yours?"
"Have you had a brain transplant within the last couple of minutes?", Sonic cried, "The fuzz are after me! And everyone knows that the first place the cops'll go to is the criminal's hideout! Duh!"
"Alright!", Fiona snapped back, "There's no need to be fucking sarcastic!", she huffed as Sonic sped past pedestrians, "We can't go back to my place either"
"Well, where do you suggest we go?", Sonic cried desperately. Fiona snorted rudely.
"And I thought you were the almighty Sonic the Hedgehog!", she retorted, "I thought you knew all the secret hideouts throughout Mobius! Why do you want my help?"
"Hey. I've only had to few minutes to improvise, alright?", Sonic snapped angrily. God, he badly wanted to chuck Fiona onto the sidewalk, but at what cost? Sonic knew that if he did that Fiona would find a way to sabotage and expose his alter-ego; she would probably backstab him by spreading rumours that he wasn't the supposed bad-ass that he made himself out to be and boast about her ability to manipulate Mobians… particularly Scourge the Hedgehog.
"D'arrgh!", Sonic exclaimed, "Fuck this! I'll decide along the way!"
"What?", Fiona cried, "Wait, I-"
Before she could continue, Sonic increased his speed up to 700 mph as he zoomed through the streets; deliberately running around in circles as to confuse the cops whilst Fiona protested loudly from the back. Once he had skimmed through the streets several times, Sonic gave in and kept an eye out for potential hide-outs for both Mobians. He followed his instincts by randomly selecting a building. Sonic held his breath and ran up the side of the building. He noticed an abandoned apartment where one window had been left open and immediately sought refuge.
"Stop, please!", Fiona shrieked, "I'm gonna spew!"
"Calm your jets!", Sonic protested, "We're here!", and screeched to a halt. When he shrugged Fiona off of his shoulder, he noticed that Fiona's complexion had turned into an interesting shade of green. Fiona scrambled to her feet and began to heave loudly, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Sonic rolled his eyes at her exaggerated performance. Then he remembered the police searching for their hideout and grabbed Fiona's arm. Fiona shrieked loudly.
"Shh!", he hissed, "We've got to keep a low profile, got it?"
And with that, Sonic manoeuvred them both underneath the window and against the wall. Fiona, in response, began to panic for not only was she in the presence of a potential lunatic or rapist, but she was completely unaware of her surroundings; she had to know where the exits were, or else… or else…
"I wanna get out of here", she whimpered, "I gonna be sick! Please, please don't do anything you'll-"
"Keep quiet!", Sonic hissed, "And keep still, yeah?"
"Y-you won't do anything, w-will you?", she stammered fearfully, tears forming in her eyes.
"Well, if I do then we'll both know it's because you won't shut up!", he muttered angrily. Fiona sniffled fearfully and nodded.
"Now", Sonic continued, "Stay up against the wall, stay quiet, and don't cause havoc… got it?"
Fiona nodded fearfully and leant against the wall, and remained silent. Sonic held his breath as he listened to the streets outside, anticipating the worst. He felt his heart race as they both heard police sirens gradually increase… and then gradually fade away. Sonic saw Fiona open her mouth and angrily shook his head at her. Fiona closed her mouth abruptly. They remained silent as the noise made by police cruisers and helicopters gradually faded in time. Sonic closed his eyes and anticipated the worst; helicopters revealing them both, the SWAT team breaking into the apartment and arresting him, tear gas thrown into the apartment and suffocating them both…
And yet, although his imagination ran his sanity wild, as time progressed, nothing happened…
Sonic strained his ears to listen to the activities occurring outside in the streets; Mobians arguing, car horns beeping, jet planes soaring across the skies whilst travelling to foreign countries… But no noteworthy sirens, no helicopters, no SWAT teams…
Sonic breathed out slowly. This encouraged Fiona to hyperventilate.
"I think we're safe now", he commented. Fiona began to scramble away from him, tears pouring down her cheeks.
"O-okay", she stammered fearfully, "You made your point in… w-whatever you were trying to prove… just please, please don't do anything, okay?"
"Right", Sonic continued, "Now that we're alone, we have to talk"
"Alright", Fiona whimpered as she continued to scuttle away from him, "I-I didn't mean what I said! I was angry, okay? I just f-felt betrayed, a-and I was pissed off at you", she swallowed nervously and curled up, hugging her legs, "I'll take everything back, just d-don't do anything you'll regret!"
"What?", Sonic questioned and shook his head, "No! No! I'm not going to attack you or anything, I swear!"
"… R-really?", Fiona whimpered, shivering.
"No, look Fi", Sonic argued and kept his distance to prove his point, "I understand why you're so pissed at me… God, I'd be pissed if somebody lied to me like I did to you", he paused, "It wasn't right… and I'm sorry"
A brief pause followed between them. Fiona was the first to break it.
"But… why?", she croaked, "I mean… you knew about what's happened to me in the past… what possessed you to think it was okay to lie to me like that? How did you think I would react?"
"I didn't…", Sonic paused, "… believe-"
"You never believe me did you?", she cried angrily, "You thought I was making it up as I went along, didn't you?"
"What?", Sonic cried, "No! I did believe you! I-"
"You thought that since I came across as some psycho from a disturbed background, that I'd automatically lie about being fucking sensitive to others lying to me?", she snapped, "I-I thought…"
"Thought what?", Sonic persisted.
"I… I thought I could trust you", Fiona closed her eyes and new tears formed and rolled down her cheeks, "I thought I'd found someone who had been through the same ordeal as me; who was misunderstood and treated badly by others and didn't trust anybody… I actually trusted you more than my own therapist – do you even realise how much of a big deal that is to me?", and with that she began to sob uncontrollably, "But I was wrong", she continued, "It made me realise how alone I really am on this planet… I can't trust my own mom, my friends, my therapist… or even you"
"Well…", Sonic paused, "What did you expect me to say? Something like, 'Oh, hi! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog who committed mass murder and was given a new identity to hide from the public who want me dead, but don't tell anyone, it's a secret!' – what did you expect me to do, Fi? I had no other choice but to make up a fake identity!"
"But did you have to come away with all that murdering bullshit?", she argued, "Why did you come away with all that crazy shit about killing a Mobian? Why?"
"Well", Sonic admitted, feeling uncomfortable, "If I can be perfectly honest, I did kill hundreds of lives through a nuclear accident"
Fiona stared at him.
"No joke?", she asked.
"No joke", Sonic confirmed, "One hundred per cent true", a thought came to mind, "Didn't you see it in the news?"
"I don't watch the news"
"Not even through gossiping Mobians?"
"I don't socialise much with others", she admitted, "The gang only care about stuff like what's inside their sandwiches – they don't mix with others outside our mutual friends"
Sonic couldn't help but smirk at this; it was so true. Then, he continued.
"It was an accident", he remarked, "See, Dr. Eggman tricked me into releasing nuclear missiles into a nearby town, and it…", Sonic swallowed nervously, surprised to find tears in his eyes, "… it killed Mobians through the explosion…", he ran his fingers through his quills, "I-I lost the respect of my friends, my loved ones. One of my closest friends landed me in court and i-it resulted in me being released with a new identity and a new life because the court felt sorry for me, or something…"
Sonic glanced at Fiona. Fiona was staring at him with interest.
"… so even though I've saved their asses hundreds of times in the past, they forced me to make up a new identity and watched my every move, and I…", Sonic sighed, "I just felt pissed off. Betrayed, even. For years, I've been saving others and thinking of others' well-being, and after one accident, everybody treats me like scum. I know I deserved it, but everyone makes a false once in a while, right?"
An eerie silence followed.
"… Right?", Fiona coaxed him to continue.
"I couldn't run, I couldn't contact my closest friends, I couldn't even shop without the cops knowing", he explained further, "I felt isolated from everyone else, like nobody cared or understood how this all affected me"
Fiona continued to stare at him, her face streaked with tear stains.
"So I thought, 'Whatever! Who cares about everyone else?', a-and I dyed my quills and developed a new persona", Sonic continued, "I thought since I was seen as the ultimate criminal of all time, I may as well protect my new title", he shook his head, "I thought that changing my persona and taking my anger out on everyone else would make things better…", he peered at her, tears gradually strolling down his face, "… pretty stupid, huh?"
A long pause followed before Fiona croaked, "No, not at all"
"So don't sit there and say that I don't understand how it feels to feel isolated from everyone else and to feel betrayed and treated like crap", he snapped, "That's why I tried to explain to you about this earlier, but you wouldn't listen because you were upset. Like you said, sometimes you have to be considerate about how others feel – they may have been through tough times, too. Just remember, I've been through the same ordeal as you, so I know where you're coming from about all of this"
Sonic breathed out and slumped against the wall.
"So", Fiona piped up, "Your secret's out. What happens now?"
"What else?" he remarked, "I'll have to keep myself hidden, won't I?"
"Not really", Fiona explained, "Just keep a low profile and not act like an arrogant ass in public"
Sonic chuckled despite his emotional state. And then he remembered.
"I wanna get my own back on Jeffrey St. Croix", Sonic stated darkly, "He needs to be taught a lesson after what he did to the both of us"
"Oh yeah", Fiona whispered, "About that… thank you"
"Sure", Sonic whispered back, smiling.
"No, really", Fiona commented, "I appreciate what you did"
"Anytime", Sonic reassured her. Fiona smirked.
"Right, so Jeffrey St. Croix is on our list", Fiona confirmed, "I know others that we could persuade to join our team so we could kick their asses no problem!"
"Sweet!", Sonic grinned, regaining his confidence. Fiona paused delicately and moved towards him.
"And…", she paused, "I'm sorry I lost my temper earlier on… I… I was just angry, y'know? I'm…", she sighed, "I'm glad you told me... a-and I'm sorry for everything you've been through recently"
"So am I", Sonic smiled. Fiona shrugged.
"Hey", she smirked, "We psychos have gotta look out for one another, right?"
"Too true!", and before Sonic could think, he found himself leaning forward and pecking Fiona on her cheek. Both Mobians stared at one another and paused to register what had happened. Sonic then found himself reaching forward once more and shyly kissing Fiona on her lips. Before they could control themselves, both Sonic and Fiona began to passionately kiss one another. After a while, Fiona pulled away.
"Wait!", she protested, "Didn't you have some fan girl who was crazy in love with you… like a pink hedgehog or something?"
"She admired Sonic the Hedgehog", Sonic pointed out with a cocky grin, "Not Scourge the Hedgehog!"
"Right", Fiona grinned, "Gotcha, Scourge", and was silenced with another kiss.